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Examining Illicit Cross-Border Drug Flows Within the Pacific Northwest

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Examining Illicit Cross-Border Drug Flows Within the Pacific Northwest Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Graduate School Collection WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship 2011 Examining illicit cross-border drug flows within the acificP Northwest Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick) Larsen Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Larsen, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), "Examining illicit cross-border drug flows within the acificP Northwest" (2011). WWU Graduate School Collection. 137. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/137 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Graduate School Collection by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Examining Illicit Cross-Border Drug Flows Within the Pacific Northwest By Joseph Patrick Larsen Accepted in Partial Completion Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Moheb A. Ghali, Dean of the Graduate School ADVISORY COMMITTEE Chair, Dr. Donald Alper Dr. Amir Abedi Dr. Bidisha Biswas MASTER’S THESIS In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Western Washington University, I grant to Western Washington University the non‐exclusive royalty‐free right to archive, reproduce, distribute, and display the thesis in any and all forms, including electronic format, via any digital library mechanisms maintained by WWU. I represent and warrant this is my original work, and does not infringe or violate any rights of others. I warrant that I have obtained written permissions from the owner of any third party copyrighted material included in these files. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of this work, including but not limited to the right to use all or part of this work in future works, such as articles or books. Library users are granted permission for individual, research and non‐commercial reproduction of this work for educational purposes only. Any further digital posting of this document requires specific permission from the author. Any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, is not allowed without my written permission. Joseph Patrick Larsen May 26, 2011 Examining Illicit Cross-Border Drug Flows Within the Pacific Northwest A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Western Washington University Accepted in Partial Completion Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts By Joseph Patrick Larsen May 2011 iv Abstract: After the attacks of September 11th, 2001 the American government placed a new emphasis upon domestic security and scrutiny soon fell upon the US-Canada border. From 2001 to 2011 there has been a great expansion of border security on the US-Canada border. It is the objective of this thesis to examine how increases in security along the US-Canada border following 9/11 have affected or changed drug smuggling in the Pacific Northwest. It is the central hypothesis of this thesis that the smuggling of drugs produced in British Columbia for American markets has been pushed into the interior of the Pacific Northwest, both to less used ports of entry and to between ports of entry. This thesis examines an area in which there is a profound dearth of scholarly research. The hypotheses of this thesis were tested through the examination of data related to drug smuggling arrests and drug seizures at the border. Additionally, interviews with relevant border stakeholders were conducted. The central hypothesis of this thesis has not been conclusively supported by the data acquired for this research. It appears, based on the drug seizure and interviews, as if drug smuggling in the Pacific Northwest has greatly decreased following increases in border security after 9/11. The substantial reduction in the amount of marijuana seized at the US-Canada border in the Pacific Northwest is significant, but it is inconclusive as to what is directly responsible for this decrease. v Acknowledgements: I would like to express my gratitude towards the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University for providing me with funding for this research through a thesis fellowship. This thesis would not have been possible without the tireless work of my committee chairperson, Dr. Donald K. Alper. His constant support and editing skills are greatly appreciated and have helped to make this thesis a reality. I would like to thank all those who took time out of their busy schedule to allow me to interview them for this research. Additionally, I would like to thank Julie Smith for helping with interview transcriptions and proofreading. I am also indebted to my fellow political science graduate students whose insights and support aided me in this research. Finally, I would like to thank my family, especially my soon to be wife Hee Ju Jeon for supporting and encouraging me to pursue my master’s degree. Without her encouragement, this process would have been much more difficult. vi Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………….………………………..iv Acknowledgements……………….……………..……..………………………………………….v List of Figures and Tables………………………...………………………………………….…..vii Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………..……………………………………………..1 Chapter 2: Literature Review………………………..…………………………………………….9 Chapter 3: Methods……,……………………………………..………………………………….44 Chapter 4: Findings………………………………………………...…………………………….57 Chapter 5: Conclusion.…………………………………………………………………………...92 Bibliography...………………………………………………………….……………..………….99 Appendix: Interview Questions ………………………………………………………………..103 vii List of Figures, Charts and Tables Figure 1: Border Patrol Sector Map ………………………………..………..…………..………..2 Table 2.1: Drug Seizures at Southwest and Northern Borders 2005-2009………….…………...19 Table 2.2: Northern Border MDMA Seizures, in Dosage Units 2005-2009………….................20 Table 2.3: Number of Marijuana Plants Eradicatedx in the United States 2004-2008......……....21 Table 2.4: Number of Plants Eradicated From Federal Lands 2004-2008….…….……………..22 Table 2.5: Sector Allocated Non-Pay Resources………….………………………………….….36 Table 4:1 Total Budget Authority ……………………………………………….……………….58 Table 4.2: Sector Allocated Non-Pay Resources……….…………………………………….….58 Table 4.3: CBP Selected Drugs Seized at Most Important Washington POEs………………..... 60 Table 4.4: ICE Blaine POE selected drugs with number of incidents ……………...….………. 62 Table 4.5: Sumas POE ICE Data Marijuana seized 2003-2011………………………….….….. 63 Table 4.6: CBP Marijuana Lbs. Seized at Eastern Washington POEs……………………...……65 Table 4.7: ICE Metaline Falls POE…………………………………………….……...…………66 Table 4.8: ICE Spokane and Oroville POE Marijuana lbs. seized...…………..……….…….......67 Table 4.9: Border Patrol Blaine Sector…………………………………………………………..70 Table 4.10: Border Patrol Spokane Sector…..…………………………….…………………..…71 Chart 4.1: Drugs Seized at Washington POEs 2003-2011 ………………………………………73 Chart 4.2: US-Canada Exchange Rates 2003-2011………………………………...……………73 Chapter 1 Introduction: After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 the American government began to place a new emphasis upon domestic security. Scrutiny soon fell upon the US- Canada border, the “world‟s longest undefended border,” which was beginning to be viewed more as a potential soft underbelly to enter and strike the United States (due to Canada‟s more open immigration policies) than a symbol of an enduring friendship between two nations with the world's largest and most comprehensive trading relationship.1 This suspicion was inflamed by the continued spreading of unfounded rumors by prominent American political figures, such as Hillary Clinton, that some or all of the hijackers from the September 11th attacks came to the United States via Canada.2 This confusion has continued to persist to this day with the current Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security suggesting in a 2009 interview that some of the 9/11 terrorists had crossed into the United States from Canada.3 In the years following the attacks, the budgets for the different agencies responsible for border security4 rapidly increased to face perceived threats emanating from Canada and the rest of the world. At the time of the September 11 attacks there were only 334 US Border Patrol agents assigned to the 4,000 mile US-Canada border (excludes Alaska-Canada border) compared to the approximately 9,000 agents positioned 1 "Background Note: Canada," US Department of State: Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, 10 Sep 2010. 2Doug Struck, "Canada Fights Myth It Was 9/11 Conduit." Washington Post, 09 Apr 2005. 3"Canada more lax than U.S. about whom it lets in, Napolitano says." CBC News 21 Apr 2009. 4During the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were both formed through the merger of various agencies. 2 along the 2,000 mile border with Mexico.5 Since then the total number of Border Patrol agents has doubled to more than 20,700 agents in 2011, while at the northern border there has been a 700 percent increase in the number of agents to approximately 2,200 agents.6 However, on a day to day basis this expanded border security apparatus has not been dealing with Al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups along the US-Canada border; rather the predominant target has been drug traffickers who aim to bring Canadian produced drugs to the largest illicit drug market in the
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